Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-12-03
NEGROES OF THE COAST.
A GRAPHIC SKETCH OF LIFE AMONG
THE SOUTHERN FREEDMEN.

negro Of the coast. Today we propose 10
sketch briefly his general mode of life,
without dwelling upon any one Of his
characteristics. Let us take the island Of
Hilton Head, which is not many miles
from Savannah and nearer still to Beau
fort, a dozen miles or more of whose mag
nitcent beach is washed by Calaboge
sound and the Atlantic itself. OF the
island itself, it may be said that it is
about seventeen miles in length by about
five in width; hat it is barren enough No
grow pea vines and nut grass indiiferently,
and that, with the exception Of perhaps
500 acres of cleared land, il is densely
covered with pine, cedar and palmetto, in
whose thickets deer, turkey and smaller
game, notably the raccoon, abound. OF
the people who inhabit it, much more may
be said. Several weeks ago the writer,
while temporarily seafaring, encountered
a terrific gale of Hilton Head and was
driven upon its arid shores, where he was
forced, whether or not, to remain for a
week. 1t may be well, in order the more
faithfully to describe the manners and
customs OF the natives, TO sketch briefly
our enforced sojourn among them, and
this we viii endeavor to 40.
"NATIvEs'' on THE BEAC1.
1t was late in August when the squall
struck Us. Our boat was unwieldy and
anything but seaworthy, but with all
sails set we managed to keep her before
the wind, and clumsy as she was we few
through the boiling breakers at a mad
rate. We crossed Broad river furiously,
and our landing, Il most dangerous feat
under such circumstances, was accom-
plished with marvellous good luck. Hay-
ing drawn our craft into a creek, where
she found partial protection from the
gale, we turned our attention to the
natives" They had gathered upon the
beach III great numbers-men, women
and children-yiewing us with gaping
curiosity. Not that the sight of a boat
vas Il novelty, but that the strange faces
in it awoke establishment, if not wonder.
The men were brawny, muscular fellows,
dressed in every variety of patched gar
ments; the women wore short frOcks,
With 40 head or foot dress; the larger
children Of either sex boosted a single
garment, Mother Hubbard in appearance,
and the younger children, probably from
10 and under, wore only-their skins.
Amid this collection Of human incon-
gruity we made our bow and begged to
be shown To the nearest hotel. An ir.
credulous gufIaw, that rose in chorus
above the bowling Of the wind, answered
us, and we were pointed 10 the "Islant,"
whose barrenness was decidedly intensi-
fed by the ~wOcbegonencss Of the numer-
Gus log huts that ~punctuated and en-
phasized it.
Except that they were adorned with
clapboard roofs, these habitations were
models Of piEpens, with a hole in one end
for a door n a clay chimney in the other.
They had once been clayed over-that is,
the inch or So Of space between the logs
had been stopped up with clay-but the
clay had long since been attracted by
gravitation, and the cracks had never been
rehlled. There were no floors; mother
earth was plenty good enough. There
were some benches n a pine table, but
no chairs Everything was smoke be-
grimed, not excepting The Police Gazette
pictures that were pasted about in i'm
possible places. The furniture, other than
that already described, consisted for the
most part of tin pans and cans, pots and
pals, dogs (and what dogs, cats and oh,
what cats, and an occasional chicken
worth a quarter. There were also odors
Of dried fish, and crab like odors, and sug-
g~estions Of mud. There were occasional
optical illusions Of watermelon rinds, and
quite often a glimpse OF a raccoon skin
stretched proudly against some favored
square foot Of smoothness. There were
fish scales, oyster shells, and crab backs
~abundantly strewn about and plentifuhy
iuterspcrsed with the bones of forgotten
sharks.
CUSTOMS AMI MANNERS.
All this wholesome sight we saw with
less Of wonder than may be supposed, for
we had been among this people before,
who are IA peculiar people, and who dwell
exclusively upon the islands Of the Caro-
lima coast. But what Of their customs and
manners? Wen, they live on fish, oysters,
crabs and other productions Of the salt
water. They plant potatoes, corn and
cotton and they make enough by this
means to clothe themselves, or more ac-
Curately to half clothe themselves, but
they seldom make anything over. Their
corn and some of their potatoes are put
aside TO be eaten through the season Tor az
long rs it lasts rather) with the fish in
prospect, but the fish in prospect is uni
versally depended upon TO keep the wolf
from the door. The cotton and the pota-
toes, except the remnant mentioned, to-
gether with n slim supply of chickens and
eggs, are taken to Savannah or Beaufort
III broken lots and exchanged for clothing
and part cash" This is q hasty out
line Of their customs. AS TO their man
ners, they have none. They do exactly
as they please in all things. They dress as
they please, go where they please, and say
what they please after their manner of say
ing it. Their children, male and female,
are taught to row and fish from infancy,
and many a boat load Of darky damsels
have we seen battling manfully O with
the waves. And their languagei great
Caesar. 1t is ear splitting-simply mon
strous. We shall not attempt to describe
it, since we have attempted it before and
failed.
To conclude, this people, we verify be-
lieve, is the happiest people upon earth.
What have they TO worry or distress them9
What to concern them at all, save the
finding of bait and the finding Of fish, and
the occasional catching Of q coon, all Of
which is a separate delight and concerns
them only in so much as it gives them
pleasure. And the man of the world-of
the different, the widely different world
who is given to see and reflect upon this
exclusive and peculiar people, car but say
TO himself afterward, "here Ignorance is
bliss. Augusta (Ga) Gazette.
Velocity Of "a Tornado.
By means of an air gun Professor G. l..